Thursday Snapshot: Blooming Port-a-potties

Morning glory curtain

I have long stated that my favorite toilet ever was a toilet set on a hillside behind my friend's house in Guatemala. There were no walls or roof, just me and the valley swooping away before while the far green mountains ran along the other side. If it rained, I took an umbrella and sat. If it was sunny, I wore a hat.

The entrance.

This set of port-a-potties comes in at a close second, though, with its drapery of cool green leaves and bright blue blossoms. I gave serious thought to 'taking a rest' here even though I had no real need. Across the street from an elementary school and next to a mechanic's shop, I am sure it is something of a neighborhood constitutional institution.

Make Your Own Mini Greenhouse

Prepping the soil in the greenhouse.
Photo courtesy of ecotwaza.com

Back in the wilds of April I planted a few seeds. This is not particularly remarkable given the time of year and my interest in all things growing. What was remarkable was that I planted them in an egg carton that I then placed inside a plastic bag that I then set in our sunny bedroom window. Then the things that shocks me every single time occurred: the seeds sprouted. They since turned into seedlings that have since been planted on our balcony for transformation into this years green curtain.

The egg carton greenhouse has also undergone something of a transformation. While cardboard is the preferred container for its biodegradability, I recently learned the merits of plastic. (I won't advocate the use of plastic specifically, but I will advocate the use of what you have on hand.) At a recent workshop I gave at an Eco Fair in Tokyo plastic is what I had. The many smiling faces should be evidence enough that it worked well.

We also wrote up the technique at ecotwaza so folks could try it at home for themselves. I'm hopeful to hear of other variations on the theme, too. And eager to hear stories of sprouting plants all over the city cared for by a fresh round of new farmers.

Egg Carton Greenhouse

Egg carton garden in it's homemade greenhouse.
Please excuse the free advertising for my hometown grocery store.

Spring, of course, is when everyone's mind turns to seeds and new green things. I am no exception, especially as we are busily planting things almost every day at the farm or tending to things that will be planted shortly. As usual, I decided to start some seeds of my own at home. I'm thinking of a green curtain, of course, for the summer, and this year I'm going with morning glories. I love them, and their blue trumpets and generous heart-shaped leaves make ideal shade long into September when the sun still manages to beat down on our little apartment.

So, I made my own little greenhouse. Inspired by Cardboard Collective's numerous ingenious ideas and an aversion to plastic, I turned an egg carton into a planter and an old grocery bag into a greenhouse. So far so good, and it was easy to boot!

What you'll need:

• seeds
• cardboard egg carton
• seed starting soil (preferably. It tends to be light enough and often comes a bit pre-loaded with what seeds need to sprout.)
• a large-ish container
• shishkabob sticks, about eight
• a plastic grocery bag
• a small waterproof tray
• a clothespin
• a sunny window

Dampen the seed starting mix.
Plop some of the mix in a bowl or container and add some water. You're aiming for a damp texture, but not absolutely dripping. Dampening it first means you don't have to water once the seeds are planted, which can wash the seeds about and out of place. Especially if you're me and you don't have a watering can of any kind at home. Keep mixing until the soil sticks together in your hand.

Egg carton garden ready to grow!

Fill the egg carton seed starting tray.
I filled both sides of the carton. The side where the eggs sit is nearly made for seed-starting, and the other side when laid open flat looks like a miniature garden. Leave a centimeter (give or take) of space between the top of the soil and the rim of the carton. You want this to be well-filled, but don't press it in too firmly. Seeds and roots need a bit of elbow room to grow and breathe, and a tightly packed soil doesn't give them any space for either of those things.

Plant your seeds.
I planted watermelon on the left side where the eggs sit as I had some leftover seeds from last year. (Sadly, these didn't sprout. A fresh egg carton is underway even as I type.) On the right I sprinkled morning glory seeds. I covered them with a thin layer of the seed starting mix and pressed it down firmly but gently over them. (The rough guide here to covering seeds is to bury them only about as deep as they are thick.) The seed needs good firm contact with the soil in order to sprout, but it can't be so tightly packed that the sprout can't push up to the light and the roots push down into the soil.

Set up the greenhouse.

• Place the egg carton on a tray (or other object) that fits squarely inside the bottom of the plastic grocery bag. The cardboard does get a bit soggy-saggy almost immediately, so having a tray of some kind or another keeps things under control.)
• Insert tray and carton inside the plastic bag. Check that it fits well enough that you can pull up the sides of the plastic bag easily and close it.
• Insert shishkabob sticks in the four outer corners and the four inner corners of the egg carton tray. Water will condense inside the bag as the interior heats up. This in turn will make the walls heavy. The sticks are just enough to help keep the plastic bag above the seedlings once they've sprouted. Not keeping them off the seedlings crushes them, but also makes a nice environment for molds and fungus that are not helpful in this situation.
• Lift the sides of the bag up and tie the handles together with a clothes pin. This helps the interior temperature of the greenhouse rise, which is what will encourage the seedlings to sprout. Periodic opening helps satisfy your curiosity, but can also keep a bit of air flowing, which helps prevent those molds and fungus' from growing, too. Be careful, though, as too much peeking will lower the temperature and result in slower sprouting or no sprouting. 
• Set it in a sunny window and wait for your new friends to appear!

Green Curtain Time!

Morning glory (Asagao) blossom from a curtain. Lovely, isn't she?

Lovely and idyllic as these spring days are the heat of summer is surely on its way. And with the shut-down of all of Japan's nuclear reactors, that also means conservation strategies need to be put in place now. And that can mean only one thing: time to plant the green curtain!

I've written about this before in some detail, so I'm not going to set folks yawning with yet another telling. Instead, I'm going to suggest you get pen and paper ready to jot down a shopping list, and grab a ruler to measure the space you've got in mind for the green curtain to cover. Later we'll talk about recipes if you decide to do an edible version or recommended reading if you opt for ornamental and get lots of wild visitors. Edible or ornamental, the shade makes a lovely spot for sipping a wee bit of umeshu or umehachimitsu as those temperatures climb, too.

Morning glory curtain shading west window.

How to Construct a Green Curtain takes you through the whole process from start to finish with more detail than you might need, but I'm a worrywart.

Green Curtain: Variations on a Theme talks about some fun edible options for curtain construction.

Green Curtain Examples Around the City gives an all too brief tour of curtains large and small (gargantuan, in some cases) I've seen around town. I'm sure I'll see more this summer, too, and will post photos of the more interesting ones.

And speaking of which, if you know of a great green curtain or have an idea for one let's hear it!

A Few Gift Ideas

I do love giving presents. My favorite spouse watches our stock of jams, marmalades, pickles, and shus like a hawk to make sure there is enough left in the larder for us to enjoy as I tend to lift jars out on the spur of the moment for sharing. And this time of year, of course, finds me pilfering our stock left and right. It is a double pleasure to see our shelf space open for future jars of goodness and later see the delight on the faces of those receiving the gift.

So, in that spirit I'm going to share a few ideas for gifts that I would love to receive.

Green Curtain Kit – Give the gift of summer shade with a homemade green curtain kit. Easy to assemble – one pretty pot, some seeds, and a bit of netting – all packed up in a pretty furoshiki, the kit is sure to please. Choose morning glories for their heart shaped leaves and brilliant blue blossoms or the classic goya for a curtain that supplies the main ingredient for scrumptious chample. Cucumbers, gourds, watermelon (a little heavy, but so yummy!) or other vining plants make fantastic curtains, too.

Winter Salad Set – If summer feels too far away, why not consider a few winter vegetables? A wide variety of edibles enjoy winter's cooler temperatures and friends will enjoy a fresh taste of the season. Leafy greens such as komatsuna, mizuna, or spinach adore this time of year as do peas, kabu, violas, and herbs like cilantro and parsley. Head over to a nearby nursery for seeds or even seedlings, a cute pot, and give an edible gift that's green in more ways than one!

Handmade Tokyo – A creatively written work documenting a community workshop examining one of the best and greenest things in this metropolis: its gardens. Braiterman and Berthelsen's work combines photography and text to share and explore green spaces large and small and their meaning to Tokyoites and beyond. Arriving in its own handmade wrapper fashioned from cast-off kimono's, there's no wrapping to worry about!

Tokyo Flower Walks – Sumiko Enbutsu's classic should be in the hands of any resident of Tokyo or visitor who happens to be a garden lover. Her seasonal walks range over the city and guide followers of her detailed directions to some of Tokyo's best corners. Clear maps mark the route as well as local points of interest, recommended restaurants, and shops. Each section introduces a particular flower or plant with a narrative description of its relevance to Japanese culture. A great way to explore the city and start developing satoyama sense!

Got some ideas of your own? Let me know and we'll add them to the list!

Photo credit: The favorite spouse took this during our trip home in February while out for a ski on the family land. It was a perfect, perfect day.

Green Curtain: Variations on a Theme

Even before Japan's current energy concerns due to the earthquake, green curtains could be spotted everywhere. Usually constructed from goya (Okinawan bitter gourd), the vines twine their way up netting to provide an extra bit of shade during the summer months. (The most famous of these is the one clamoring over the Suginami Ward Office.)

This year, of course, as a result of the problems at the Daiichi Plant and the closing of Hamaoka for precautionary reasons, the summer may be hotter yet. Word on the street has it that people are advised to set their thermostats at 28-degrees Celsius (82.4 Fahrenheit) if they feel a need to run their air conditioners. Companies and households are asked to strive for a 15-percent drop in overall energy consumption, with large users facing a fine of up to 1 million yen if they fail to comply.

As they have since the March 11th quake, Japan is responding with extraordinary resolve. The university where we teach switched to Cool Biz wear (i.e. short-sleeve shirts with the optional tie) policy a month early. They've also put reflective material on the west facing windows of many of the buildings to keep the interiors a bit cooler. People are talking about purchasing ice pillows (pillows popped in the freezer and then slept on for a cooler night), eating more ice cream (maybe that's just me), and hanging bamboo shades over windows and to protect walls from direct sun exposure. Many of my adult students also mentioned growing a green curtain for the first time ever, too, and I've seen more and more of them going up around the neighborhood.

Our green curtain is also underway, but with a few changes this year. The goya vine is sending tendrils out already, but I mixed in morning glory, cucumber, and on a whim: scarlet runner beans. The last should add some terrific foliage, lovely red flowers, and some tasty beans, to boot. I'm also betting they'll add a nice bit of nitrogen to the pot, which the other plants will appreciate as they season goes along. (FYI, the seeds are still lying in wait in the top photo. Meanwhile, the other plants are working on climbing higher to enjoy their sunny view of the neighborhood.) Since I mix edible and ornamental in the garden it seemed only logical to bring that same philosophy to my balcony garden.

Use plants for shade or energy conservation techniques? If so, do tell! This summer promises to be a hot one, so I'm looking for all the ideas I can find.

Green Curtain Examples Around the City

Well, now that I've planted my own green curtain I'm seeing them absolutely everywhere! Here are a few examples from a recent afternoon bike ride. Now that summer is officially here, folks will be glad for all this greenery!

The first picture shows a massive green curtain covering the south wall of a large office building on the west side of Tokyo. As the day moves along this side of the building surely bears the brunt of the afternoon sun. Just next to it as well is a busy roadway that offers no relief from the heat.

The vines scramble up simple green netting as well as the metal shuttering on the walls. They grow from large pots evenly spaced along the base of the wall, and each one appears to have it's own water source. (See detail photo below.)

The other two green curtains pictured below are simple home curtains. The thicker of the two already has a very nice sized goya on it, and the window behind is well shaded. The thinner one might be as much for the fruit as it is for the shade, I think.

Both of these it should be noted were started well before I even put my pots in place. My thought, of course, is that it's probably better to get this whole process started in early June rather than mid-July. If starting from seeds, I'd recommend potting them up in late April at the latest. (Mine were a gift that I started a bit later. It could still work, though, if all your rigging is in place.)

Seedling Update and Beginnings of the Green Curtain

The kale and zucchini seedlings are well underway, and the Brandywines are just beginning to unfurl their first set of true leaves. Shee-chan recommended I set the zuch's outside for more light (a bit leggy) and hardening off, so everyone's out sunning themselves at the moment. Thursday is meant to be lovely and some of them will move into the garden then.

It's a busy time in our apartment-greenhouse. I just potted up some morning glories, cardinal climbers, and cucumbers. I technically don't have room for everything in the garden (the old my-eyes-are-bigger-than-the-rows syndrome), but my justification is that I'm giving serious thought to making a green curtain or two.

A green curtain is, well, a "curtain" made out of vining plants. The idea is that as the vines grow they shade windows and walls keeping the interior cool. Companies, government offices, schools, and individuals make use of green curtains here to keep out some of the blistering summer heat. Our neighbor down the way uses goya - Okinawan bitter melon - for one of her walls, which makes it edible, too. (I'm planning to use the cucumber seedlings.) The morning glories are inspired by a house on a bike path just north of us. They have what can only be described as a massive wave of morning glories that is simply stunning running from the ground to the roof. I'm adding cardinal climber just because it reminds me of home.

Our apartment is southern facing with full-on exposure to the east and west. While we love the sunshine, the heat can be a bit much. We don't like to use the air conditioner, but in Tokyo's heat and humidity we sometimes feel like we don't have much of a choice. A green curtain - one in the front to shade the wall and one in the back to shield our living/dining area - made from cucumber vines might get us some tasty pickles AND cool us down a bit in the process.